Hollywood Athletics Club sub-elite athlete Letokuhle Letsoalo has made the difficult decision along with her coach, Mark Wolff, to skip this year’s edition of the Ultimate Human Race, the Comrades Marathon. Cuan Walker caught up with her.
With three finishes to her name and a strong showing already, Letsoalo aims to emulate her teammate, Nkosikhona Mhlwakana in getting faster over the marathon distance before returning to tackle Comrades.
After debuting at the 2022 Comrades Marathon, Letsoalo ran a commendable 7:45:07 on her first attempt, but it was the 2023 edition of the race that really announced Letsoalo as a star in the making. “An Isavel-Roche-Kelly medal (half gold half silver for a ladies sub 7:30 finish) was the goal, but on race day I had one of those days where every step just felt great,” recalls Letsoalo. Not only did Letsoalo achieve her medal goal, but she smashed it, running a time of 07:02:24. “Every step was effortless on the day and after that race, I had set my sights on running sub-seven hours in 2025.”
Whilst this year training has gone really well and the goal was still in sight, a hard decision was made between Letsoalo and Wolff to skip this year’s event and run a faster marathon. “We are now focussing on the shorter distances with the goal of a sub three-hour marathon because whilst I do have a fast Comrades time, the sub three-hour marathon has eluded me and I will be running the Durban International Marathon and the Cape Town Marathon in October in order to achieve it. Once I do, you will see me in the elite batch at Comrades 2026, that is for sure!”
The general rule of thumb for a sub 07:30 Comrades finish is that one should run a sub three-hour marathon. Letsoalo has broken the barrier by over 27 minutes at Comrades, yet has not run a sub-three marathon. That alone shows the immense talent and power that Letsoalo possess.
Balancing a full time job as well as running a household and being a mother to her children, Letsoalo does not have the benefit of full time training camps like many other elites are afforded, but finding the correct balance to fit everything in is what Letsoalo thrives on.
“Being passionate about sports has taught me to strike a balance between the two,” says Letsoalo.
“I normally take time and review my program weekly on time, to align it with my household routine.Also, with the support that I get from people close to me helps to ease the
load and allows me to prepare myself for any competition accordingly.”
Remember the name Letokuhle Letsoalo. She will be a force to be reckoned with on the road between Durban and Pietermaritzburg in the near future.
